The term "Pittsburgh rare" is used in some parts of the American Midwest and Eastern Seaboard, but similar methods of sear cooking are known by different terms elsewhere, including Blue Steak, Chicago-style rare and, in Pittsburgh itself[citation needed], black and blue.
Another method, related by a staff member at a Pittsburgh branch of Ruth's Chris Steak House, originates from the region's steel mills and the practice of workers cooking a steak on a cooling piece of steel.
The temperature of the steel would be such that it would be impossible to do more than char the outside of the steak while keeping anything worth eating.
Many restaurant guests use the term Pittsburgh to describe a steak that is extra charred on the outside, no matter what internal temperature is desired.
The explanation given in the menu revolves around steelworkers cooking steaks on hot iron.